Paul Greengrass’ CAPTAIN PHILLIPS to Open New York Film Festival; New Images Released [UPDATED]

Director Paul Greengrass’ upcoming dramatic thriller Captain Phillips has been selected to open the New York Film Festival this year. The film stars Tom Hanks as real life ship captain Richard Phillips who allowed himself to be taken hostage by Somali pirates in 2009 in exchange for the safety of his crew. Sony Pictures no doubt has high awards hopes for this one, and a NYFF premiere is a swell way to kick off the film’s awards campaign—Life of Pi premiered at the festival last year, going on to win four Oscars including Best Director.

Hit the jump to check out a few new images from the film, and click here to watch the first trailer. Captain Phillips opens in theaters on October 11th. [Update: We’ve updated the article with high-resolution versions of the images.]

Here’s the official synopsis for Captain Phillips:

Captain Phillips is director Paul Greengrass’s multi-layered examination of the 2009 hijacking of the U.S. container ship Maersk Alabama by a crew of Somali pirates. It is—through Greengrass’s distinctive lens—simultaneously a pulse-pounding thriller and a complex portrait of the myriad effects of globalization. The film focuses on the relationship between the Alabama’s commanding officer, Captain Richard Phillips (two time Academy Award® winner Tom Hanks), and his Somali counterpart, Muse (Barkhad Abdi). Set on an incontrovertible collision course off the coast of Somalia, both men will find themselves paying the human toll for economic forces outside of their control. The film is directed by Academy Award nominee Paul Greengrass, from a screenplay by Billy Ray and based upon the book, A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea, by Richard Phillips with Stephan Talty. The film is produced by Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, and Michael De Luca.